The 14th of May is the feast day of Saint Matthias. He is the patron saint of alcoholics; carpenters; Gary, Indiana; Great Falls-Billings, Montana; smallpox; tailors; hope; perseverance.
Saint Matthias was one of Jesus 72 disciples during His earthly ministry. He was then chosen by the 11 Apostles to replace Judas Iscariot after he had betrayed Jesus and committed suicide. After Jesus' Ascension into Heaven, he preached Christianity to the pagans in Judea, Cappadocia and Ethiopia for over 30 years. Among the many miracles attributed to him were: that he was unharmed after being forced to drink poison; that he became invisible as he hid from those who wanted to kill him and his attackers were swallowed up by the earth when it opened up. Saint Matthias preached the need for mortification of the flesh in order to become more holy, as Clement of Alexandria records a sentence that the Nicolaitans ascribe to Matthias "we must combat our flesh, set no value upon it, and concede to it nothing that can flatter it, but rather increase the growth of our soul by faith and knowledge". He was eventually martyred.
